US President Joe Biden’s tiny nod during a photo op Wednesday at his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin sent shockwaves in the already-troubled political community as those keeping a hawk’s eye on the developments began deconstructing the blink-and-you-missed-it head movement and what it could mean for the US-Russia relations.
Many said that it appeared to suggest that Biden can take Putin at his word even as the two countries parry around a myriad of issues. The nod came after a reporter shouted over colleagues to ask Biden whether Putin could be trusted.
It set off a flurry of media speculation had Biden just indicated a new level of trust about the man he days ago referred to as a worthy adversary?
Not so fast, the White House said.
U.S. Communications director Kate Bedingfield and press secretary Jen Psaki both said Biden wasn’t responding to a particular question during the chaotic moments when U.S. and Russian reporters shouted over each other and struggled to get into the small room for a glimpse of the leaders.
Biden was just acknowledging the media generally, they said.
Bedingfield added that Biden earlier had said his approach to Putin would be to verify, then trust.
Chaotic scenes
Some pushing and shoving between journalists and security officials is practically routine at high-level news events, but unusually fierce shoving and shouting broke out at the Biden-Putin photo op.
Russian and U.S. security officials initially blocked journalists as they tried to enter the small, library-like room where the leaders sat.
U.S. journalists described Russian security and news media grabbing them by the arms and clothes to try to hold them back. U.S. journalists tried to shoulder their way in, and one was knocked to the ground.
Some reporters were heard screaming stop pushing and don’t touch me. Others described being crushed in the melee.
Biden and Putin watched awkwardly at first, then laughed at the tumult.
The Swiss effect?
As they concluded their summit meeting, Biden called the two countries “two great powers," even as the event wrapped up more quickly than expected.
Putin, too, described the tone of the talks as constructive and said there was no hostility during the talks. “Our assessment of many issues differ, but in my view, both sides demonstrated the desire to understand each other and look for ways to get closer," Putin said.
The conversation was rather constructive, he added.
Cold war
For four months, the two leaders have traded sharp rhetoric. Biden repeatedly called out Putin for malicious cyberattacks by Russian-based hackers on U.S. interests, a disregard for democracy with the jailing of Russia’s foremost opposition leader and interference in American elections.
Putin, for his part, has reacted with whatabout-isms and obfuscations pointing to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol to argue that the U.S. has no business lecturing on democratic norms and insisting that the Russian government hasn’t been involved in any election interference or cyberattacks despite U.S. intelligence showing otherwise.
(With agency inputs)
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